Cambridge IGCSE Biology Tutors Online

Cambridge IGCSE Biology is syllabus 0610. This page works from Version 3 of the syllabus, which covers exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Exams are available in the June and November series, and also in the March series in India.

All candidates take three components, and the first decision is which route to follow. Candidates who have studied the Core syllabus content, or who are expected to achieve a grade D or below, are entered for Paper 1, Paper 3 and either Paper 5 or Paper 6, and are eligible for grades C to G. Candidates who have studied the Extended syllabus content, which is the Core plus the Supplement, and who are expected to achieve a grade C or above, are entered for Paper 2, Paper 4 and either Paper 5 or Paper 6, and are eligible for grades A* to G.

That route choice is the single most consequential decision in the qualification, and it is worth being blunt about it. All candidates should be taught the Core content, but candidates who are only taught Core can achieve a maximum of grade C. Anyone aiming for A* to C has to be taught the Extended content.

Paper 1 is Multiple Choice (Core), and Paper 2 is Multiple Choice (Extended). Each is 45 minutes, carries 40 marks and is worth 30% of the qualification, and each consists of 40 four-option multiple-choice questions. Paper 1 is based on the Core content only, and Paper 2 is based on the Core and Supplement. Both test AO1 and AO2, and both assess grades A* to G.

Paper 3 is Theory (Core) and Paper 4 is Theory (Extended). Each is 1 hour 15 minutes, carries 80 marks and is worth 50% of the qualification, and each is made up of compulsory short-answer and structured questions. Both test AO1 and AO2 and both assess grades A* to G.

The practical component is one paper from a choice of two. Paper 5 is the Practical Test, lasting 1 hour 15 minutes and carrying 40 marks. Paper 6 is the Alternative to Practical, lasting 1 hour and carrying 40 marks. Each is worth 20% of the qualification and each tests AO3 only. The two papers require the same experimental skills to be developed and learned, require an understanding of the same experimental contexts, and test the same assessment objective, so the choice is about whether a centre can run the experiments rather than about difficulty. Candidates taking Paper 5 will be required to do experiments in a laboratory, and candidates taking Paper 6 will not.

The practical papers are specific about the contexts candidates should know. They include simple quantitative experiments measuring volumes of gases and liquids, masses, temperatures, times and lengths, and they include diffusion, osmosis and food tests, alongside the wider experimental skills set out in Section 4 of the syllabus.

The syllabus content is set out in numbered topics running from Topic 1 to Topic 21: Characteristics and classification of living organisms, Organisation of the organism, Movement into and out of cells, Biological molecules, Enzymes, Plant nutrition, Human nutrition, Transport in plants, Transport in animals, and Diseases and immunity.

The topics continue with Gas exchange in humans, Respiration, Excretion in humans, Coordination and response, Drugs, Reproduction, Inheritance, Variation and selection, Organisms and their environment, Human influences on ecosystems, and Biotechnology and genetic modification.

Every topic is presented in two columns, Core and Supplement. Schools teaching only the Core column are teaching a complete but capped qualification, and the Supplement column is what unlocks the higher grades. A student who is aiming for A* to C needs the Supplement content from the very first topic, not as revision at the end.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1 is knowledge with understanding, covering scientific phenomena, facts, laws, definitions, concepts and theories, scientific vocabulary and conventions including symbols and units, scientific instruments and apparatus including techniques of operation and safety, and scientific applications with their social, economic and environmental implications. AO2 is handling information and problem-solving, covering locating and organising information, translating information from one form to another, manipulating data, identifying patterns and trends, forming conclusions, presenting reasoned explanations, making predictions and solving problems including quantitative ones. AO3 is experimental skills and investigations.

The weightings are AO1 at 50 per cent, AO2 at 30 per cent and AO3 at 20 per cent of the qualification. Within the examined papers the split is different: Papers 1 and 2 are 63 per cent AO1 and 37 per cent AO2, and Papers 3 and 4 are also 63 per cent AO1 and 37 per cent AO2, with nothing on AO3 in either. The practical papers are 100 per cent AO3.

So knowledge and understanding is worth half the qualification, and the experimental skills are worth a fifth but sit almost entirely in one 40 mark paper. A student who can recall content but cannot handle unfamiliar data will lose the AO2 marks across both the multiple-choice and theory papers.

The qualification is graded A*, A, B, C, D, E, F or G, with A* the highest and G the lowest. A candidate whose performance does not meet the standard required for grade G is ungraded, which is reported on the statement of results but not on the certificate.